Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2011
Description Of Business and Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	NOTE 1 - Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Description of Business The Company provides vehicle sellers with a full range of services to process and sell vehicles over the Internet through the Company’s Virtual Bidding Second Generation (VB²) Internet auction-style sales technology. Sellers are primarily insurance companies but also include banks and financial institutions, charities, car dealerships, fleet operators, and vehicle rental companies. The Company sells principally to licensed vehicle dismantlers, rebuilders, repair licensees, used vehicle dealers and exporters; however at certain locations, the Company sells directly to the general public. The majority of vehicles sold on behalf of insurance companies are either damaged vehicles deemed a total loss or not economically repairable by the insurance companies or are recovered stolen vehicles for which an insurance settlement with the vehicle owner has already been made. The Company offers vehicle sellers a full range of services that expedite each stage of the vehicle sales process, minimize administrative and processing costs and maximize the ultimate sales price. In the United States and Canada, or North America, the Company sells vehicles primarily as an agent and derives revenue primarily from fees paid by vehicle sellers and vehicle buyers as well as related fees for services such as towing and storage. In the United Kingdom, or UK, the Company operates both on a principal basis, purchasing the salvage vehicle outright from the insurance company and reselling the vehicle for its own account, and as an agent. Principles of Consolidation The condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company include the accounts of the parent company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including its foreign wholly-owned subsidiaries, Copart Canada, Inc. (Copart Canada) and Copart Europe Limited (Copart Europe) which currently operates solely in the UK. Significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Copart Canada was incorporated in January 2003 and Copart Europe was incorporated in June 2007. In the opinion of the management of the Company, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (which are normal recurring accruals) necessary to present fairly its financial position as of October 31, 2011 and July 31, 2011, and its condensed consolidated statements of income and cash flows for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010. Interim results for the three months ended October 31, 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period, or for the entire year ending July 31, 2012. These condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with US generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2011. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates are used for, but not limited to, vehicle pooling costs, self-insured reserves, allowance for doubtful accounts, income taxes, revenue recognition, share-based compensation, long-lived asset and goodwill impairment calculations and contingencies. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Income Taxes Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. In accordance with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification 740, Income Taxes (ASC 740), a two-step approach is applied to the recognition and measurement of uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained in an audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in its provision for income taxes line of its condensed consolidated statements of income. Foreign Currency Translation The functional currency of the Company is the US dollar. The Canadian dollar and the British pound are the functional currencies of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries, Copart Canada and Copart Europe, respectively, as they are the primary currencies within the economic environment in which each subsidiary operates. The original equity investment in the respective subsidiaries is translated at historical rates. Assets and liabilities of the respective subsidiary’s operations are translated into US dollars at period-end exchange rates, and revenues and expenses are translated into US dollars at average exchange rates in effect during each reporting period. Adjustments resulting from the translation of each subsidiary’s financial statements are reported in other comprehensive income. Revenue Recognition The Company provides a portfolio of services to its sellers and buyers that facilitate the sale and delivery of a vehicle from seller to buyer. These services include the ability to use the Company’s Internet sales technology and vehicle delivery, loading, title processing, preparation and storage. The Company evaluates multiple-element arrangements relative to its member and seller agreements. The services provided to the seller of a vehicle involve disposing of a vehicle on the seller’s behalf and, under most of the Company’s current North American contracts, collecting the proceeds from the member. On August 1, 2010, the Company prospectively adopted Accounting Standard Update 2009-13, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605): Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangements (ASU 2009-13). Upon adoption of this standard, pre-sale services, including towing, title processing, preparation and storage, sale fees and other enhancement service fees meet the criteria for separate units of accounting. The revenue associated with each service is recognized upon completion of the respective service, net of applicable rebates or allowances. For certain sellers who are charged a proportionate fee based on high bid of the vehicle, the revenue associated with the pre-sale services is recognized upon completion of the sale when the total arrangement is fixed and determinable. The selling price of each service is determined based on management’s best estimate and allotted based on the relative selling price method. Vehicle sales, where vehicles are purchased and remarketed on the Company’s own behalf, are recognized on the sale date, which is typically the point of high bid acceptance. Upon high bid acceptance, a legal binding contract is formed with the member, and the gross sales price is recorded as revenue. The Company also provides a number of services to the buyer of the vehicle, charging a separate fee for each service. Each of these services has been assessed to determine whether the requirements have been met to separate them into units of accounting within a multiple-element arrangement. The Company has concluded that the sale and the post-sale services are separate units of accounting. The fees for sale services are recognized upon completion of the sale, and the fees for the post-sale services are recognized upon successful completion of those services using the relative selling price method. The Company also charges members an annual registration fee for the right to participate in its vehicle sales program, which is recognized ratably over the term of the arrangement, and relist and late-payment fees, which are recognized upon receipt of payment by the member. No provision for returns has been established, as all sales are final with no right of return, although the Company provides for bad debt expense in the case of non-performance by its members or sellers. The Company allocates arrangement consideration based upon management’s best estimate of the selling price of the separate units of accounting contained within an arrangement containing multiple deliverables. Significant inputs in the Company’s estimates of the selling price of separate units of accounting include market and pricing trends, pricing customization and practices, and profit objectives for the services. Derivatives and Hedging The Company has entered into an interest rate swap to exchange its variable interest rate payment commitments for fixed interest rate payments on $375 million, the notional amount, of the Term Loan balance, which at October 31, 2011 totaled $500 million. The notional amount of the derivative transaction amortizes $12.5 million per quarter through September 30, 2015 and $175 million on December 14, 2015. The Company entered into the interest rate swap to reduce interest rate risk on the Company’s variable rate Term Loan (see Note 12). The swap is a designated effective cash flow hedge under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and is recorded at its $0.6 million fair value in other liabilities. Each quarter, the Company will measure hedge effectiveness using the ”hypothetical derivative method” and record in earnings any hedge ineffectiveness with the effective portion of the hedge’s change in fair value recorded in other comprehensive income or loss (see Note 8). The hedge provided by our swap could prove to be ineffective for a number of reasons, including early retirement the Term Loan, as allowed under the Credit Agreement (see Note 12), or in the event the counterparty to the interest rate swap is determined in the future to be uncreditworthy. The Company has no plans for early retirement of the Term Loan. Segments and Other Geographic Reporting The Company’s North American region and its United Kingdom region are considered two separate operating segments, which have been aggregated into one reportable segment because they share similar economic characteristics.

Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2011

Description Of Business and Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

NOTE 1 - Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business

The Company provides vehicle sellers with a full range of services to process and sell vehicles over the Internet through the Company’s Virtual Bidding Second Generation (VB²) Internet auction-style sales technology. Sellers are primarily insurance companies but also include banks and financial institutions, charities, car dealerships, fleet operators, and vehicle rental companies. The Company sells principally to licensed vehicle dismantlers, rebuilders, repair licensees, used vehicle dealers and exporters; however at certain locations, the Company sells directly to the general public. The majority of vehicles sold on behalf of insurance companies are either damaged vehicles deemed a total loss or not economically repairable by the insurance companies or are recovered stolen vehicles for which an insurance settlement with the vehicle owner has already been made. The Company offers vehicle sellers a full range of services that expedite each stage of the vehicle sales process, minimize administrative and processing costs and maximize the ultimate sales price. In the United States and Canada, or North America, the Company sells vehicles primarily as an agent and derives revenue primarily from fees paid by vehicle sellers and vehicle buyers as well as related fees for services such as towing and storage. In the United Kingdom, or UK, the Company operates both on a principal basis, purchasing the salvage vehicle outright from the insurance company and reselling the vehicle for its own account, and as an agent.

Principles of Consolidation

The condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company include the accounts of the parent company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including its foreign wholly-owned subsidiaries, Copart Canada, Inc. (Copart Canada) and Copart Europe Limited (Copart Europe) which currently operates solely in the UK. Significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Copart Canada was incorporated in January 2003 and Copart Europe was incorporated in June 2007.

In the opinion of the management of the Company, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (which are normal recurring accruals) necessary to present fairly its financial position as of October 31, 2011 and July 31, 2011, and its condensed consolidated statements of income and cash flows for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010. Interim results for the three months ended October 31, 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period, or for the entire year ending July 31, 2012. These condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with US generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2011.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates are used for, but not limited to, vehicle pooling costs, self-insured reserves, allowance for doubtful accounts, income taxes, revenue recognition, share-based compensation, long-lived asset and goodwill impairment calculations and contingencies. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

In accordance with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification 740, Income Taxes (ASC 740), a two-step approach is applied to the recognition and measurement of uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained in an audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in its provision for income taxes line of its condensed consolidated statements of income.

Foreign Currency Translation

The functional currency of the Company is the US dollar. The Canadian dollar and the British pound are the functional currencies of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries, Copart Canada and Copart Europe, respectively, as they are the primary currencies within the economic environment in which each subsidiary operates. The original equity investment in the respective subsidiaries is translated at historical rates. Assets and liabilities of the respective subsidiary’s operations are translated into US dollars at period-end exchange rates, and revenues and expenses are translated into US dollars at average exchange rates in effect during each reporting period. Adjustments resulting from the translation of each subsidiary’s financial statements are reported in other comprehensive income.

Revenue Recognition

The Company provides a portfolio of services to its sellers and buyers that facilitate the sale and delivery of a vehicle from seller to buyer. These services include the ability to use the Company’s Internet sales technology and vehicle delivery, loading, title processing, preparation and storage. The Company evaluates multiple-element arrangements relative to its member and seller agreements.

The services provided to the seller of a vehicle involve disposing of a vehicle on the seller’s behalf and, under most of the Company’s current North American contracts, collecting the proceeds from the member. On August 1, 2010, the Company prospectively adopted Accounting Standard Update 2009-13, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605): Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangements (ASU 2009-13). Upon adoption of this standard, pre-sale services, including towing, title processing, preparation and storage, sale fees and other enhancement service fees meet the criteria for separate units of accounting. The revenue associated with each service is recognized upon completion of the respective service, net of applicable rebates or allowances. For certain sellers who are charged a proportionate fee based on high bid of the vehicle, the revenue associated with the pre-sale services is recognized upon completion of the sale when the total arrangement is fixed and determinable. The selling price of each service is determined based on management’s best estimate and allotted based on the relative selling price method.

Vehicle sales, where vehicles are purchased and remarketed on the Company’s own behalf, are recognized on the sale date, which is typically the point of high bid acceptance. Upon high bid acceptance, a legal binding contract is formed with the member, and the gross sales price is recorded as revenue.

The Company also provides a number of services to the buyer of the vehicle, charging a separate fee for each service. Each of these services has been assessed to determine whether the requirements have been met to separate them into units of accounting within a multiple-element arrangement. The Company has concluded that the sale and the post-sale services are separate units of accounting. The fees for sale services are recognized upon completion of the sale, and the fees for the post-sale services are recognized upon successful completion of those services using the relative selling price method.

The Company also charges members an annual registration fee for the right to participate in its vehicle sales program, which is recognized ratably over the term of the arrangement, and relist and late-payment fees, which are recognized upon receipt of payment by the member. No provision for returns has been established, as all sales are final with no right of return, although the Company provides for bad debt expense in the case of non-performance by its members or sellers.

The Company allocates arrangement consideration based upon management’s best estimate of the selling price of the separate units of accounting contained within an arrangement containing multiple deliverables. Significant inputs in the Company’s estimates of the selling price of separate units of accounting include market and pricing trends, pricing customization and practices, and profit objectives for the services.

Derivatives and Hedging

The Company has entered into an interest rate swap to exchange its variable interest rate payment commitments for fixed interest rate payments on $375 million, the notional amount, of the Term Loan balance, which at October 31, 2011 totaled $500 million. The notional amount of the derivative transaction amortizes $12.5 million per quarter through September 30, 2015 and $175 million on December 14, 2015. The Company entered into the interest rate swap to reduce interest rate risk on the Company’s variable rate Term Loan (see Note 12). The swap is a designated effective cash flow hedge under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and is recorded at its $0.6 million fair value in other liabilities. Each quarter, the Company will measure hedge effectiveness using the ”hypothetical derivative method” and record in earnings any hedge ineffectiveness with the effective portion of the hedge’s change in fair value recorded in other comprehensive income or loss (see Note 8).

The hedge provided by our swap could prove to be ineffective for a number of reasons, including early retirement the Term Loan, as allowed under the Credit Agreement (see Note 12), or in the event the counterparty to the interest rate swap is determined in the future to be uncreditworthy. The Company has no plans for early retirement of the Term Loan.

Segments and Other Geographic Reporting

The Company’s North American region and its United Kingdom region are considered two separate operating segments, which have been aggregated into one reportable segment because they share similar economic characteristics.